Campaign for fair food comes to Gainesville

Fifteen religious leaders in Gainesville signed a joint open letter to Publix Supermarkets today urging the corporation to help end what they’re calling worker abuse in Florida’s tomato fields. The letter encourages Publix to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s Campaign for Free Food, which seeks to improve wages and conditions for tomato pickers. Tomato pickers working in Immokalee currently earn close to 50 cents for every 32 pound bucket of tomatoes they pick. Nelly Rodriguez, a former tomato farmer in Immokalee, says her job made being a mother that much more difficult.

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Concealed weapons are prohibited on college campuses by state law. The Florida House Criminal Justice Committee meets Tuesday to consider allowing concealed-carry permit holders to carry concealed guns on campus.